Abercrombie & Fitch rallies among US apparel; cosmetics retailers face heat in 2024

VF

31/12/2024 15:25

** Apparel retailers Abercrombie & Fitch  ANF.N , Gap
 GAP.N  and VF Corp  VFC.N  outpaced rivals in a year marked by
frugal and picky consumers motivated by trendy and discounted
products
    ** Popularity of Hollister and namesake Abercrombie brand
boosted ANF stock by 75% this year, after a nearly three-fold
rise last year
    ** In contrast, Aerie parent American Eagle Outfitters
 AEO.N  and high-end retailer Lululemon Athletica  LULU.O 
reversed gains made in 2023 to fall more than 20% each this year
    ** Sportswear giant Nike  NKE.N , with new CEO Elliott Hill
at helm and turnaround efforts underway, continued to slump for
a third straight year
    ** On Holding  ONON.N  and Hoka parent Deckers Outdoor
 DECK.O  gained market share at Nike's expense, with ONON shares
up more than two-fold
    ** Uncertain China recovery and soft sales of beauty and
cosmetics products in U.S. hit luxury retailers Estee Lauder
 EL.N  and CoverGirl parent Coty  COTY.N 
    ** Demand for pricey cashmere sweaters benefitted Ralph
Lauren  RL.N  shares for a second year in row, up 61%, while
Coach parent Tapestry  TPR.N  gained ~79% as it terminated a
merger deal with Capri  CPRI.N 
    ** Department store operators Macy's  M.N  and Kohl's
 KSS.N  struggled as middle-income shoppers pivoted to cheaper
options; M slumps for third year in row, while KSS fell 51%
    ** Nordstrom  JWN.N , which agreed to a $4 bln take-private
deal from its founding family, was up 30% 
    ** Broader S&P Composite 1500 Apparel Retail Index
 .SPCOMRETA  up ~25% YTD, while S&P Composite 1500 Apparel,
Accessories & Luxury Goods  .SPCOMTEXT  down 6%, up to last
close

Apparel, footwear companies  
 Company         RIC    2024    2023   2022
                        YTD           
 Abercrombie &   ANF.N  75.30   285%  -34.2
 Fitch Co                   %            0%
 Gap Inc         GAP.N  12.60  85.40  -36.0
                            %      %     9%
 Levi Strauss &  LEVI.  4.84%  6.60%   -38%
 Co              N                    
 VF Corp         VFC.N  13.88  -31.9  -62.3
                            %     0%     0%
 Lululemon       LULU.  -24.9  59.60  -18.2
 Athletica Inc   O         0%      %     0%
 American Eagle  AEO.N  -22.5  51.60  -44.8
 Outfitters                0%      %     7%
 Guess Inc       GES.N  -34.5  11.45  -12.6
                           5%      %     0%
 Under Armour    UAA.N  -6.60  -13.5  -52.0
                            %     0%     5%
 G-III Apparel   GIII.  -4.40  147.8  -50.4
 Group Ltd       O          %     5%     0%
 Nike Inc        NKE.N  -31.2  -7.20  -29.8
                           0%      %     0%
 On Holding      ONON.  104.6  57.20  -54.6
                 N         0%      %     0%
 Deckers         DECK.  84.70  67.50  8.97%
 Outdoor         O          %      %       
 Macy's          M.N    -15.8  -2.57  -21.1
                            %      %     2%
 Kohl's          KSS.N  -51.2  13.58  -48.8
                            %      %     8%
 Nordstrom       JWN.N  31.1%  14.3%  -28.6
                                         5%
 Luxury and beauty companies
 Company       RIC      2024 YTD  2023     2022
 Tapestry      TPR.N    79.30%    -3.34%   -6.21%
 Ralph Lauren  RL.N     63.30%    36.46%   -11.10%
 Coty Inc      COTY.N   -43.96%   45.09%   -18.48%
 Estee Lauder  EL.N     -49.12%   -41.05%  -32.98%
 Ulta Beauty   ULTA.O   -10.40%   4.46%    13.76%
 Canada Goose  GOOS.TO  -9.72%    -34.63%  -48.60%
 Capri         CPRI.N   -58.90%   -12.35%  -11.69%
 
 (Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru)
 ((Savyata.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com))